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(NoModeL) B. F. SMITH. KEY FASTENER- No. 575,433. Patented Jan. 19 189"].

U irnD STATES BENJAMIN F. SMITH, OF STEIVART, OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF TIVO-TI-IIRDS TO EDWARD S. BYRON AND MILTON J. CHARLTON, OF SAME PLACE.

KEY-FASTENER- SPEGIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 575,433, dated January 19, 1897. I Application filed August 25, 1896. $814M 1 1- (NO m To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN F. SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Stewart, in the county of Athens and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Key-Guards; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention has relation to improvements in combined guards for keys and the keyholes of door-locks; and the object is to provide a simple adjustable guard for the lock on the inside of the door to protect the keyhole, and at the same time form a guard for the key to prevent it being detached from the look from the outside.

To this end the novelty consists in the construction, combination, and arrangement of the same, as will be hereinafter more fully described, and particularly pointed out in the claim.

In the accompanying drawings the same figures of reference indicate the same parts of the invention.

Figure 1 is aperspective-view of a door having the lock secured to one side thereof and showing my improved guard in place. Fig. 2 is a similar view with the guard applied to a door having a mortise-lock; and Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, showing the position of the guard when it is desired to withdraw the key from the lock.

1 represents a flat plate formed with integral ears 2 2, by means of which it is secured to the door, and the sides of the plate are formed with guide-flanges 3 3. The lower edge 4 of said plate is turned up to form a stop for the lower end of the slide 5, which has a vertical movement in the guide-flanges 3 3 on the plate 1.

6 represents a spring-tongue formed integral with the plate 1, its upper end serving as a stop for the slide when it is pushed up to engage the key, and when said tongue is pressed in the slide may be pulled down to release the key.

The plate 1 is secured to the door with its recess 8 in alinement with the lower half of the keyhole. The slide is then pulled down, as shown in Fig. 3, with its key-recess 9 in line with the corresponding recess 8 in the plate. The key is then inserted and the slide pushed up, so that its recess 9 engages the shank of the key and covers the lower portion of the keyhole. When the slide is pushed up to this position, the spring-tongue 6 flies out and prevents the slide being slid down again until the tongue is pressed in to release it.

When the slide engages the key, it covers the keyhole and prevents the key being pushed out of the look from the outside, though of course it can be freely manipulated from the inside to lock and unlock the door.

Although I'have specifically described the construction and relative arrangement of the several elements of my invention, I do not desire to be confined to the same, as such changes or modifications may be made as clearly fall within the scope of myinvention without departing from the spirit thereof.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and useful, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, 1s

An improved keyhole-guard, comprising a 

